Pop-Tarts
Pop Tarts are a brand of flat, rectangular, pre-baked toaster pastries made by the Kellogg Company. Pop Tarts have a sugary filling sealed inside two layers of rectangular, thin pastry crust. Some varieties are frosted. They can be eaten without being warmed, but are often warmed inside a toaster or microwave. They are usually sold in pairs inside foil packages, and do not require refrigeration. Popular flavors include Chocolate Chip, Apple Strudel, Frosted Strawberry, Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon, Cherry, and S'mores. Pop Tarts are Kellogg's most popular brand to date in the United States, with millions of Pop Tarts sold each year. They are distributed mainly in the United States, but also in Canada. They can also be found in the United Kingdom and Ireland. Pop Tarts were discontinued in Australia in 2005 and are now found only in import stores. History Post Cereals first created the confection that would become Pop Tarts in the early 1960s. Post adapted its process for enclosing food in foil to keep it fresh without spoiling—first used for dog food—to its new toaster-prepared breakfast food. Intended to complement its cold cereals, Post announced its new product in 1963 to the press, giving them the name "Country Squares". Because Post had revealed Country Squares before it was ready, Post's biggest competitor, Kellogg, was able to develop its own version in six months. Kellogg's rushed their new pastry into the market very quickly and its name came from one of the hottest things at the time: Pop Art which Andy Warhol made a household name with his giant soup cans and Brillo boxes. Pop Tarts advertised its new product by an animated toaster named Milton and could not keep the shelves stocked because it became so popular. Originally not frosted when first introduced, it was later proved that frosting could survive the toaster, and the first frosted Pop Tarts were officially released in 1967. The first Pop Tarts came out in four different flavors: strawberry, blueberry, brown sugar cinnamon, and apple currant. Today, there are a wide variety of Pop Tart flavors, including Chocolate Chip, S'mores, Raspberry, French Toast and Mint Chocolate Chip. In 1992, Thomas Nangle sued Kellogg for damages after his Pop Tart got stuck and caught fire in his toaster. The case gained wider notoriety when humor columnist Dave Barry wrote a column about starting a fire in his own toaster with Pop Tarts. In 1994, Texas A&M University professor Joseph Delgado performed an experiment showing that, when left in the toaster too long, strawberry Pop Tarts could produce flames over a foot high. The discovery triggered a flurry of lawsuits. Since then, Pop Tarts carry the warning: "Due to possible risk of fire, never leave your toasting appliance or microwave unattended." Pop Tarts were introduced with fairly substantial marketing to the United Kingdom in the early 1990s, although they have failed to replicate their U.S. success. In 2001, the United States' military dropped 2.4 million Pop Parts in Afghanistan during the United States War in Afghanistan. In 2004, Pop Tarts began a new ad campaign titled "Crazy Good". Characters that appeared often were a singing lizard and a group of kids, dubbed "crazy-good kids", who commonly frightened the Pop Tarts and caused them to be eaten or chased away. The ads employ squiggly animation, surreal humor, and non sequitur, all of which bear a strong resemblance to the signature work of animator Don Hertzfeldt. One "crazy-good kid" in particular bears strong resemblance to Billy in Hertzfeldt's Billy's Balloon. However, Hertzfeldt was not involved in any way with the ads and in 2006 was considering possible litigation for stealing his work. In 2006, Pop Tarts also introduced a version of the product known as Go Tarts. These were similar to Pop Tarts, but were thicker, narrow, and wrapped individually (instead of in packages of two). Go Tarts were discontinued in 2008. Flavors Pop Tarts come in a variety of flavors. There are over 50 of them: Frosted flavor *Apple Strudel * Frosted Blueberry * Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon * Cherry * Chocolate Chip * Chocolate Banana Split * Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough * Frosted Chocolate Fudge * Cinnamon Roll * Frosted Cookies & Cream * Hot Fudge Sundae * Frosted Raspberry * S'mores * Frosted Strawberry * Frosted Strawberry Milkshake * Vanilla Milkshake * Frosted Wild! Berry * Blueberry Muffin Unfrosted * Blueberry (Unfrosted) * Strawberry (Unfrosted) * Brown Sugar Cinnamon (Unfrosted) Pop Tarts Splitz *Strawberry Blueberry Splitz * Maple Brown Sugar Splitz * Chocolate Strawberry Splitz * Chocolate Vanilla Splitz Limited edition *Dulce De Leche (2008) * Guava Mango (2008) * Chocolate Banana Split (2009-Present) * Orange Cream (2008-2009) Printed Fun *[[Knock Knock Jokes Frosted Berry Who?|Knock Knock Jokes Frosted Berry Who?]] * Barbie Sparkleberry * Barbie Islandberry * Hot Wheels Cinna-Match 1 Brown Sugar Cinnamon * American Idol Blue Raspberry * Indiana Jones Brown Sugar Cinnamon * NFL Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon * Pictionary * Nix Family Laffy Taffy Flavors * Nascar Brown Sugar Cinnamon * Printed Fun Gingerbread Whole grain * Whole Grain Strawberry * Whole Grain Brown Sugar Cinnamon * Whole Grain Chocolate Fudge Discontinued *Pancake Syrup Blueberry (German) * Sidney Berry Blast * My Goodness Cherry * Frosted Grape * Frosted Wild Watermelon * Hot Chocolate * French Toast * Wild Tropical Blast * Frosted Caramel Chocolate * Frosted Double Berry * Mint Chocolate Chip * Low Fat Frosted Chocolate Fudge * Disney Princess Jewelberry * Hello Kitty Meowberry * Vanilla * Wild Magic Burst * Kool-Aid * Unfrosted Cherry * Apple Cinnamon * Strawberry Cheese Danish * Gingerbread * Dutch Apple * Peanut Butter & Jelly Low Fat *Low Fat Brown Sugar Cinnamon * Low Fat Strawberry Commercials thumb|300px|left External Links *Official website *Pop-Tarts page on Kellogg's website *Canadian website *UK website Category:Pop Tart Wiki